Economic development, the way it is conventionally practiced in this country, is seriously flawed. I’m talking billions of dollars and the return is virtually zero.

NAR: Across the nation, cities and states compete for each other’s jobs— enticing companies with tax breaks, land and other subsidies.

Economic development advertisement:

Come to Texas, we’re wide open for business.

Arthur Rolnick:

When we allow cities and states to try to lure each other’s companies with subsidies, from a national perspective not one new job is created.

Economic development advertisement:

The Texas Enterprise Fund…

NAR: In 2011, this cost taxpayers more than 80 billion dollars—enough to fund more than 5000 child development centers for 10 years. Instead, most states have cut their investments in child development programs.

Rob Dugger, Economist and Investment Banker; Co-Founder, ReadyNation:

So when we say that we have a budget crisis, it’s not a shortage of money that we’re talking about. There’s plenty of money. This is lobbying power which assures that our political system continues to try to keep the spending patterns unchanged.

Arthur Rolnick:

The economics of it just doesn’t hold up. You want to make sure you have sustainable economic growth, invest in your kids.

Arthur Rolnick:

Everyone’s saying, earlier, the better. It’s more efficient. If you wait, it’s going to cost you a lot more money, and you’re going to fail a lot more.

Rob Dugger:

We are not producing the workforce that we need. We are producing a large, large number of people who are going to be unable to compete effectively on a global basis.

James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2000, University of Chicago:

And we create a two-tiered society, so we say to those kids: “Sorry, we’re not going to help—even though we know how to help, and we can do it in an effective way.

Cheryl Polk, President, HighScope Educational Research Foundation:

We know it has a great return on investment. We know it helps children’s life-long learning. Why do we not do it? It’s a question I ask myself daily.